May 16, 2024 Regular Meeting of Sacramento Area Sewer District and Financing Authority
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Sacramento Area Sewer District and Northern California Sanitation Agency Financing Authority Regular Meeting – May 16, 2024
The Sacramento Area Sewer District (SAC Sewer) and its financing authority held a regular meeting on May 16, 2024, at 9:35 a.m., adjourning at 10:19 a.m. The board addressed consent items, conducted a public hearing on sewer rate increases, reviewed the FY 2024‑25 budget, authorized delinquent charge collection, and received a quarterly report on the transition from county to district staffing.
Consent Calendar
- Items 1–7: Approved unanimously without discussion or public comment. No items were pulled.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Public Comment on Non‑Agenda Items: No speaker requests were received.
- Public Hearing on Rate Increases (Item 10): No members of the public signed up to speak. Staff reported 121 written protests for the collection system area and 159 for the treatment/resource recovery area—well below the 50%+1 threshold required under Prop 218. No protests were received from the industrial customer class.
Discussion Items
- Director Comments (Item 9): Director Aquino thanked staff for the district’s booth at Folsom’s Earth Day event and praised the plunger‑topped pencils as a giveaway item. Other directors noted the upcoming “Walk on the Wild Side” event at district property on May 18, 2024.
- District Engineer Matters: The next board meeting was announced for May 22, 2024, with a focus on human resource items.
- Public Hearing and Adoption of Rate Ordinances (Item 10): Staff presented the results of the Prop 218 protest process. The board adopted amendments to the collection system ordinance and the treatment/resource recovery ordinance, including sewer rate increases effective July 1, 2024. A lifeline rate assistance program adjustment will be brought to the board on May 22, 2024. Director Hume opened and closed the hearing, finding that the protest threshold was not met. The board waived full reading and approved the ordinances unanimously.
- Budget Workshop for FY 2024‑25 (Item 11): Chair Hume explained the budget drivers: increased costs for labor, construction, and services; a solids handling emergency adding $13–$14 million annually; and one‑time costs from transitioning staff from county to district. Budget Manager Becky Schaefer presented the combined recommended operating budget of $314.4 million (9.6% increase over current year) and capital budget of $562 million ($159.7 million increase). Key operating increases: $14.3 million for supplemental biosolids disposal, $5 million for temporary staffing services, and $1.7 million for insurance. Major capital projects include the Harvest Water Project ($234 million), biogeneration facility ($67.5 million), and septic conversions ($25.5 million). Financing sources total $876.4 million, primarily from monthly service charges ($455.7 million) and bond proceeds ($218 million). Director Viegas inquired about retirement, insurance, and IT cost trends; staff noted that cybersecurity costs are managed through internal teams and county DTEC services with some free critical‑infrastructure resources. The budget was received and filed.
- Delinquent Sewer Charges Resolution (Item 12): Finance Director Depa Banda presented the annual resolution to transfer delinquent charges to the county property tax roll. On April 27, 2024, notices were sent to 18,969 customers; typically the number decreases by about $5 million when charges are actually transferred. The board adopted the resolution of intention and set a public hearing for July 10, 2024 at 9:30 a.m. The motion included directing the clerk to advertise on June 7 and July 5, and also approved staff’s full recommendation (motion and second by directors Sewan and Roblace).
- One District Quarterly Report (Item 13): Matthew Doyle presented accomplishments since January 2024, including internal communications (GM videos, information sessions, FAQ site) and union negotiations (two side letters on layoff procedures and vacation/sick transfer). Progress on the ERP Tyler Technologies implementation: Human Capital Management module on track for July 2024, employee access in September, benefits enrollment in October, time/payroll by December, and first paycheck January 3, 2025. Finance Management System expected by January 1, 2025. Several service‑level agreements with the county are completed or under review. AB 2301 (SacSewer Pension Protection Act) passed the Assembly floor 75‑0 and moves to the Senate in June. Employee onboarding events (resignation from county and offer from district) were pushed from June to July 2024 to allow AB 2301 progress. Directors Soon and Viegas commended staff for the complex transition effort.
Key Outcomes
- Rate Increase Ordinance Adopted: Unanimous vote to adopt amended collection system and treatment/resource recovery ordinances with rate increases effective July 1, 2024. Protest threshold not met.
- FY 2024‑25 Budget Received and Filed: The $314.4 million operating and $562 million capital budget was accepted as information.
- Delinquent Charge Resolution Approved: The board voted to direct transfer of delinquent sewer charges to the property tax roll and set a public hearing for July 10, 2024.
- Quarterly Report Received and Filed: The one‑district transition progress report was acknowledged. No further action required.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, we'll go ahead and uh call to order the uh Wednesday, May 8th, 2024 regular meeting of the Sacramento Area Sewer District, Northern California Sanitation Agency's financing authority at 9 35 a.m. and ask for a roll call, please. Good morning, member Aquino. Here Pinski Costa Present. Frost? Here. Kaplan. Here. Kennedy. Here. O'Rosco? She is here. Roblis? Here. Tao. Here. Velenzuela here. Viegas. Here. And Hume. Here. And you do have a quorum. Very good. Thank you. Would you join uh Director Aquino in the Pledge of Allegiance, please? Pledge of allegiance. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God. Indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Okay. Now do we have a clerk statement? This meeting of the Sacramento Area Sewer District is being broadcast live on Metro Cable 14, the local government affairs channel on the Comcast Consolidated Communications and ATTU versus cable systems. This meeting is closed captioned and live streamed at Metro 14 Live.sackCounty.gov. Today's meeting will replay Sunday, May 12th at 9 a.m. on Channel 14. This meeting can also be viewed at YouTube.com back backslash Metro Cable 14. In accordance with government code 54952.3 compensation for meeting of these legislative bodies is required to be verbally disclosed. The amount of a hundred dollars will be paid for each member participating today is a member of the Sacramento Area Sewer District. Compensation for Sacramento County Supervisors and City of Sacramento Council members is paid to the county and city respectively to partially offset the costs of those governments. Compensation for other board members is delivered to the individuals to make an in-person public comment. Please complete a speaker request form and hand it to the clerk. The chairperson will call your name when is your turn to make a comment.gov. Your comment will be routed to the board and filed in the record. And that concludes the announcement. And um I will notate the arrival of Director Swin and Dr. and Director Gera. Dr. Guerra is in the house. And uh don't bother sitting down, we're going straight to closed session. So uh we'll go up to uh closed session and hearing room one and be back shortly.
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